Ηospitality societies

The purpose of this module is to enable students to develop knowledge and understanding of the hospitality industry, its operations and role in society. To achieve this, students investigate and evaluate the size, scale and scope of the sector, including but not limited to hotels, restaurants, spas, and resorts. The module also places great emphasis on learning about the global and international hotel industry, specifically classification and ownership models.

The module also examines the value of hospitality services to society and culture, including the history, origin and meaning and art of good hospitality and service.

Project Design, Planning and Management

Project planning and management are key aspects of service industries designed to create viable opportunities for business development ideas and visions for growth. The acquisition of skills knowledge, and attitudes to facilitate the design, development and evaluation of projects plans is therefore critical. It will also encourage the design and development of unique products and services, business facilities, delivery processes and procedures. Operational schedules, processes and procedures, marketing practices and techniques, resources utilisation plans, and project execution will be examined.  The application of relevant theoretical models and technical tools will be analysed.  Project evaluation criteria and critical success factors will form a significant part of this module.

Business Environment of the visitor economy

This module will examine the environment that visitor economy businesses operate within. You will assess the different sectors of the visitor economy: tourism, hospitality, events and the current external environment, including, micro and macro environments and the internal environment.

Organisational Transformation

This module will explore how organisations introduce change to compete in ever evolving markets. With a faster transforming economy, businesses need to understand the requirements to compete in the marketplace of the future. Businesses need to understand the external forces creating the need for change and how to respond taking their workforce with them. Students will develop an insight into what the future trends are predicted to be in areas of economic activity that span the service sector.

Service Experience Co-Creation  

The purpose of this module is to provide students with a theoretical and practical understanding of the principles and practices of experience co-creation in the context of tourism, hospitality and events. Students will have an opportunity to explore the practical applications of co-creation models through working towards the design, pitch and delivery of an experience concept to meet set criteria.

Current scenarios, future directions

This module investigates the contemporary phenomena that shapes tourism, hospitality and events management at both local and global levels using theoretical discussions and case studies. Through group debate and seminar discussion, the module explores the nature of what constitutes success within these industries, and how this has can continue to shift from purely economic motivation, towards a more balanced sustainable view.

Hotel Revenue Management

This module focuses on revenue management, a key process in hotel operations and management, the purpose of which is to maximise the revenue and income from a hotel’s room inventory and other revenue centres.

The context of the module is provided through analysis of the current domestic and international hotel sector. To do this students investigate developments in hotel management and ownership, market segments and demand, and distribution channels. The module then focuses on revenue management strategies and tools, which students apply and evaluate through a hotel revenue management simulation.case studies

Sustainable Hospitality and Leisure Operations

This module introduces the role of the operations function; how the organisation sources, produces and delivers goods and services to demanding customers, becomes a key contributor to superior performance and customer satisfaction. The module provides a framework, to understand the crucial role of operations to business success.

The operations are scrutinised from a process-based view, which facilitates the examination, understanding and improvement of the operations. The module looks at the short, medium, and long-term decisions managers make to ensure that the organisation can offer the right service, at the right quantity, time, place, and price. Finally, it provides guidelines on analysing operational or other business processes to help managers make decisions on the investments needed to maintain or improve these processes.

It provides an overview of the key areas of operations management, particularly in maintaining and improving the quality of goods and services, sustainability and corporate social responsibility and making sure that this is also reflected in the organisation’s performance.

Business Innovation Entrepreneurship and Financial Planning

In the current global economic environment, there is a pressing need for you to learn how to manage in dynamic, uncertain, rapidly changing and entrepreneurial environments. The aim of the module is to develop an entrepreneurial mind-set whether you decide to start your own business in the future or to be an enterprising employee within an organisation.

You will have the opportunity to develop your own business project with the support of supervisors, coaches, mentors and entrepreneurs with experience in the industry.

Research Skills

Trends continue to evolve within the service/experience economy highlighting the potential significant role that research can play in effective decision making.

This module aims to support students in developing skills for research, which will be pertinent within future employment, whilst also helping provide specific guidance for final year and independent study work. This module aims to facilitate the development of research and business development skills. The module, therefore, provides the motivation and guidance to pursue independent study work.

Μenu Design and Sensory Evaluation

In this module students will learn about the process of menu design, development and sensory evaluation. Students will then be able to apply brand management principles to products and menu design.

 Students will engage in a series of menu, product and sensory evaluation presentations and discussions.  Students will evaluate theoretical discussion of the processes involved in menu design and sensory evaluation using academic, scientific and industrial principles. This will be supported with the use of innovative and contemporary examples from industry.

Facilities and Venues Design

In this module students will develop and apply their knowledge and understanding of the factors to be considered in the design and maintenance of facilities, décor, equipment and furnishings.

Facilities and Venues include: storage areas; food preparation and production areas; food and drink service areas; lobby; back offices; lounge; guest rooms; conference and banqueting areas; outside and leisure facilities. This module focuses on the factors to be considered in the design, layout, décor, furnishings and equipment in operational areas and support for the health and wellbeing of guests.

Innovation and Concept Development in Hospitality

This module focuses on the evolving hospitality production and consumption patterns, the service scape, related business concepts and customer experiences. It will create an understanding of transformative and innovative business strategy, design and development of unique customer service concepts and experience packages, their delivery and management.

This will also include creating a unique perception of current and future management and leadership trends to bring about the transformation required to maintain a competitive advantage in hospitality facilitated by evolving disruptive technologies. A critical understanding of hospitality challenges, causative factors and related sustainable solutions designed to transform the design and delivery of customer services in the hospitality industry will be pursued. Transformation and creativity, innovative, diversity and inclusivity theories will be used to facilitate the business development process. In addition, evolving current and future management and leadership trends will be applied and analysed to facilitate innovation. Related innovative management and leadership theories will be explored.

Luxury Hotels and Resorts

This module aims to examine how the global luxury hotel and resort has developed and how they are managed in a competitive and changing global environment. Luxury hotels and resorts are one of the biggest, most lucrative and fastest-growing sectors of hospitality sector. Students will examine and evaluate the diverse range of luxury hotel and resort developments from the traditional to the new luxury experiences and the contribution that the individual parts contribute to the experience.

The module will also discuss the concept of luxury service, authenticity, and values. Students will investigate the future of the concept of luxury in the wider hospitality sectors (tourism, hospitality and events) and review how the luxury market is changing in response to factors technological innovation, social and economic changes and sustainability. This module will utilise international case studies from around the world.

Strategic Management and Business Improvement

Strategic management involves the continual planning, monitoring, analysis and assessment of all areas of an organisation to ensure that it meets its goals and objectives and maintain a competitive edge. This module will introduce students to strategic management. A key characteristic of a successful service sector manager is the ability to keep abreast of changes in the external environment and the need to adapt their business to exploit the trends and meet the challenges of a fast-changing, dynamic environment.

Awareness of the range of business strategies, their risks and potential pay-offs is key to planning the appropriate responses to the external environment, as well as understanding the internal resources and capabilities that will be required to implement those business strategies. 

Independent Project

Studying in higher education provides a rich and diverse range of skills which you can use to problem solve the fundamental challenges inherent within your chosen subject area. This module acts as a conduit to flex those academic and industry study / project skills obtained throughout an undergraduate degree study. Project research in services provides an opportunity for you to instigate and/or engage in a pure and applied research project related to your subject area discipline.

You will have the opportunity to either develop a pure research project from a self-selected topic of interest, or to successfully ‘bid’ for a research project, provided by the academic team through themes currently being researched within the department of hotel, resort and spa management. Project research in services requires you to use every skill you have acquired, with the aim of extending the systematic and coherent body of knowledge; helping to stamp your authority on your area of interest, and potentially your future career path.

Talent Management

This module explores the highly competitive environment for talent and the role organisation culture plays in retaining and attracting new talent in what can be an exciting, varied and flexible industry. This module aims to set out the need for organisations to change and adapt their organisational culture to attract the new generation of people entering the workforce.